Social Media at BU » Amber Naslundhttp://blogs.bu.edu/socialmedia
Notes and Ideas from Boston University's Social Media CommunicatorsTue, 07 May 2013 21:13:37 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.5Social Media and Time Managementhttp://blogs.bu.edu/socialmedia/2010/12/02/social-media-and-time-management/
http://blogs.bu.edu/socialmedia/2010/12/02/social-media-and-time-management/#commentsThu, 02 Dec 2010 19:31:41 +0000http://blogs.bu.edu/socialmedia/?p=183I’m currently poring over Ivan Walsh’s second iteration of free eBooks on social media. One that stood out for me is Amber Naslund’s “Social Media Time Management” (pdf), which I’m now reading through for a few new ideas.

When we sit down to consult with a school on their social media strategy, one of the biggest concerns is time management. Staff already have many different projects on their plates (and several waiting in the wings). How is it possible to keep up with not only 1) listening to what people are saying about them, but 2) remembering to allot time to all of these new tools, especially if they have to learn them first?

I often think of a marketer’s common concern: the switching cost hurdle. If the mental energy and effort expelled in making a switch in behavior is perceived as being greater than the benefit, the switch doesn’t occur. We also see this all the time in business with the adoption of social media — are the benefits of using social tools like Facebook worth the learning curve involved?

From what I’ve read so far, I agree with Amber — listen first, and come up with some solid goals. It shouldn’t be an exhaustive list, but maybe one or two things that you’d really like to get accomplished. Then, once you’ve been listening for a while, decide on what tools can help you the most. I also like to add that if you’re thinking of using more than one website to promote, get really good at one before moving on to a second. If you need to reserve your URLs, by all means do it, but make sure you have your goals outlined, and maybe a schedule if you’re sharing responsibilities with more than one person in your area.